[Pre-Chorus]
She taught me love (Love)
She taught me patience (Patience)
How she handles pain (Pain)
That shit's amazing (Yeah, she's amazing)
I've loved and I've lost (Yeah, yeah)
But that's not what I see (Yeah, yeah)
'Cause look what I've found (Yeah, yeah)
Ain't no need for searching, and for that, I say

[Pre-Chorus]
I've got so much love (Love)
Got so much patience (Patience)
I've learned from the pain (Pain)
I turned out amazing (Turned out amazing)
Say I've loved and I've lost (Yeah, yeah)
But that's not what I see (Yeah, yeah)
'Cause look what I've found (Yeah, yeah)
Ain't no need for searching
And for that, I say

About “​thank u, next”

On the lead single and titular track to Ariana Grande’s fifth studio album, thank u, next, Ariana discusses themes of self-love, growth, and empowerment after a breakup. She also references her most public romantic relationships over the years and does not shy away from name-dropping in the process. The song features production from LA-based musical duo Social House and frequent collaborator TBHits.

The song was released on November 3, 2018, minutes before an episode of Saturday Night Live aired. In a promotional clip, cast member and Ariana’s ex-fiancé, Pete Davidson, made a joke about the two’s failed engagement. Once she was made aware of the clip, she expressed her disgust in a since deleted tweet, writing:

“thank u, next” debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Ariana’s eleventh top-ten entry and her highest charting single to date, surpassing her Iggy Azalea assisted single “Problem,” which peaked at #2 in 2014. Additionally, it was the first song by a lead female artist to debut atop the US charts since Adele’s “Hello” in 2015.

Prior to the song’s release, Ariana took to Twitter to confirm that not only would “thank u, next” be the phrase associated with her hit single, but the title of her fifth studio album as well. She later confirmed that the track would be the album’s closer.

The music video for “thank u, next” was released on November 30, 2018, and is directed by frequent collaborator Hannah Lux Davis, who has previously worked with Ariana on videos for “breathin,”“Side to Side,” and more. The video interpolates iconic early-2000s movies Mean Girls, Bring It On, Legally Blonde, and 13 Going on 30, and features cameo appearances from celebrities including Kris Jenner, Troye Sivan, as well as Ariana’s former Victorious co-stars Daniella Monet, Elizabeth Gillies and Matt Bennett, among others. The music video became a huge success, accumulating more than 55.4 million views in its first 24 hours, becoming the biggest-ever global debut for a music video on YouTube. It would go on to break another YouTube record for the fastest video to reach 100 million views.

What have the artists said about the song?

Ariana told a fan via Twitter that she sees this song as an opposite to 2016’s “Knew Better”:

Have any of her exes commented on the song?

The song was released only minutes before the November 3rd episode of Saturday Night Live aired. Pete Davidson addressed the breakup, in a serious tone, in the episode:

When did Ariana perform this song live for the first time?

For the very first time, pop icon Ariana Grande took the stage to sing her new single, "thank u, next" for a performance inspired by her favorite movie "The First Wives Club".

Is there any symbolism in the song’s music video?

The music video references the movies Mean Girls, Bring It On, 13 Going on 30, and Legally Blonde. Also the part where Ari' pushes Troye Sivan into the lockers represents how she can push away all those people who make fake news just like that, as she doesn’t care about them. There may be more symbolism.